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Prunus pendula ‘Pendula Rubra’ is a Japanese flowering cherry tree with an attractive weeping habit. It forms a compact-growing tree with an irregular head of pendulous branches. Masses of single rose-pink flowers, up to 2cm across, are borne in clusters of up to five blooms, mainly during late winter and early spring. These are darker pink in bud, providing some colour and interest during winter as the flower buds appear in autumn and may open intermittently during the winter months.
The foliage is deciduous, with leaves up to 8cm long that are ovate in shape with serrated edges. In spring the newly-opened leaves are an attractive bronze-green, maturing to dark green. Leaves develop fiery tints of orange and red in the autumn before falling.
The shape of the tree is wider than high, producing irregularly spaced main branches from which the stems hang down. Ultimate size is attained in around 12-15 years.
Prunus pendula ‘Pendula Rubra’ was formerly known as Prunus x subhirtella ‘Pendula Rubra’ and is occasionally still sold under that name. The name is derived from the Latin pendeo, meaning ‘to hang’, and rubra which means 'red'. Prunus pendula ‘Pendula Rosea’ is very similar, but with paler pink flowers.
Prunus pendula ‘Pendula Rubra’ has been awarded the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) Award of Garden Merit.
Advice on buying Prunus 'Pendula Rubra'
Flowering cherry trees are widely available as container-grown trees from nurseries, garden centres and online
While Prunus pendula ‘Pendula Rubra’ is one of the less common weeping flowering cherry varieties, it should be fairly readily available
The usual size available to buy is a young tree at a height of 1.4-1.8m high, grown in a 10-15l pot
Specialist tree nurseries may offer ready-grown trees in larger sizes, often as bare root or field-grown trees which are only available during the dormant season (November to March)
